confirmed it.”
Feeling weak, I turned to look at Jake. His eyes met mine and I wondered again if it was just The Foundation, or if it could be something more between us.
Reed stepped around the couches, coming toward me. His face was sober and he no longer seemed angry. “What happened to you?”
Rob caught up to Reed, stepping between us. “She’s not going to talk about that. I told you that.”
Reed and Rob started arguing, both starting to raise their voices. Karen stepped shoulder to shoulder with Rob, blocking Reed.
My gaze was still locked with Jake’s and I felt something inside of me jolt in some kind of recognition. “Why did you suspect me?”
Silence filled the room as the others looked between Jake and I.
Jake’s eyes narrowed and he moved across the room, parting the rest of them. Stepping right in front of me, his eyes looked vulnerable. “I wasn’t sure.”
What was he talking about? “What?”
“I thought it was a dream. Or I had imagined it…” He looked down and I saw the coin in his hand. “It happened before…when I still had my powers. But I saw you. One night, I couldn’t sleep and I went for a run around the grounds.” His breathing came faster. “I came in the south tunnel, not wanting to bother anyone. And I heard something.” He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, I could see moisture. “I followed the sound to a locked room.”
My chest constricted and I couldn’t breathe. Him. It was him.
“The window was small, but I could hear something so wonderful. So I looked in.” A tear came down his cheek. “I heard the most beautiful music, like an orchestra, and saw what seemed like hundreds of butterflies dancing. And then I saw this beautiful girl with long, curly, sun-touched hair. You looked so beautiful.” He stepped forward, touching the edge of my hair. “And so sad.”
Aching filled me. I remembered that night. Tears slid down my face. “I talked to you?” I’d forgotten that. Maybe it had seemed like a dream to me too.
Anger flashed through his eyes. “You told me you were locked away and needed help.” Wiping his face, he glanced toward the others, not seeming at all embarrassed by his tears. “I tried to get help, Lanie. I ran back to my room and woke Reed. We dragged Marsha and Karen with us to rescue you. But you weren’t there.” Jake raised his hands in frustration and lifted the coin in front of him. “But this was.”
My heart started to beat quickly.
Rob stepped up to us, taking the coin out of Jake’s hand. “Yeah. It’s one of their coins—that’s why we were trying to find out if you were after Lanie.”
Jake shook his head sadly. “You know that there were only seven of them?”
Frowning, Rob turned to me. “ Yeah. The original seven. I know. ”
Reed stepped forward, holding out a matching coin, his eyes hard. “My mom’s dead. I have hers.”
Karen walked forward, holding another one out to us. “I…I have my dad’s.” She turned away from us quickly, wiping a tear from her cheek.
“Marsha!” Reed yelled. “Bring your coin out here.”
I looked at Jake. He reached into his pocket, pulling out another coin and holding it out. “My mom’s.”
The look in his eye told me that the story about his mom being killed was true.
Marsha padded toward us, having changed into sweats and thick socks with her hair back in a ponytail. She looked younger. Holding her coin out, she rolled her eyes at Jake. “It’s not like she doesn’t know.” Her eyes went to Rob’s face. “They know.”
I glared at Marsha. “What is she talking about?”
Jake huffed out a breath and put his hand up to Marsha. “Stop.” He turned back to us. “Obviously one of your parents was one of the seven.”
Rob cleared his throat, looking at me. We weren’t supposed to talk about it. We knew there were seven. We knew it was an experiment, but dad was so careful, he never told us names. They had all vowed to keep the secret